Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,990 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.6% during the third quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 21,419 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,080 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 91,868 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $8,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 634.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,758 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 25,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 7.4% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,106 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Lisa D. Earnhardt sold 22,852 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.25, for a total value of $2,428,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,530,337.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,787 shares of company stock worth $4,098,073. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 1.2 %

Abbott Laboratories stock traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.94. 6,149,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,560,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $89.67 and a 52-week high of $121.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $112.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.85.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.96% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.54%.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.